Coffee Table Books That Do More Than Just Sit And Look Pretty

From Gucci's extremely limited edition fairy tale of a book to a hardcover chronicling Yves Saint Laurent's time at Dior, these are beautiful books with substance to boot.

by Natalyn Chan | May 3, 2018

As seemingly dictated by the Instagrams we live through vicariously, a living room without a coffee table is an incomplete one, and since it’s also the first thing your guests would notice when they are seated, it should never be left bare and empty. A few candles here and a few coffee table books there to give them something to fiddle with during awkward silences.

But, while we love a coffee table book, often they end up as decoration. Unlike a candle that doubles both as decor and a scent, coffee table books are often left forgotten and untouched, left to collect dust until they’re called in for a flatlay.

The best kinds of coffee table books are the ones that sit and look pretty and still provide full of factoids for your noggin should you be so inclined to do some light reading on a lazy afternoon. It’ll spark conversation, too and make you seem just a little bit more boujee for just owning them. From fashion to art and culture, these five stylish spines below are our top picks of the season.

Disturbia by Peter Schlesinger

No one weaves a story, sometimes almost like a fairy tale, out of a collection quite like Gucci. In Disturbia, Gucci ropes in photographer Peter Schlesinger to bring the Pre-Fall 2018 collection to life. With Rome and its architecture as the backdrop, Disturbia also pays homage to the works of Italian director Dario Argento. There are only 1,000 copies of this book worldwide and several will be made available in Singapore at Dover Street Market.

Christian Dior may have founded the house, but Yves Saint Laurent’s Dior was just as phenomenal. This hardcover takes a look as the head design honcho across two years, told through exquisite photography of archival couture and an analysis into his vision. A book with substance? Heck, yeah.

AdR: Beyond Fashion

It may look unassuming on the outside, but like AdR’s ever evolving, ever jubilant and never boring personal style, this is a volume that opens up to reveal pop-up books, posters, a deck of playing cards, her diary entries and show notes from the front row on top of her work from Vogue Italia and Vogue Japan. Basically, it is a lot of fun. Everything in it is mantle-worthy.

The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel

As a filmmaker, Wes Anderson’s aesthetic is one of a kind and the worlds he creates, often seen through sepia-tinged lenses are sights for sore eyes. Dedicated to the Academy Award-nominated The Grand Budapest Hotel, this book looks behind the scenes with in-depth interviews with Anderson. The words are accompanied with fantastic illustrations and photography. With Anderson’s popularity, you’d be hard-pressed to find a guest who wouldn’t pick this up for a quick read.

Vanity Fair 100 Years : From the Jazz Age to Our Age

In this 384-page coffee table book, you could flip till your hands turn to jelly – and you’re nowhere near the back of the book. It includes the transitions through each decade like the Jazz Age and the Great Depression and how the publication moved into the modern era. There are essays, illustrations, art works and photography all coming together in one book to showcase a century of how much culture and art has evolved through Vanity Fair’s eyes.